Saving Seafood

Lobster boat captain charged in crewmen’s deaths arrested after reported overdose

March 27, 2017 — A Cushing captain accused of causing the deaths of two crew members when his lobster boat sank in a storm is behind bars again after he reportedly overdosed on heroin.

Christopher A. Hutchinson, 28, was arrested Thursday by the Maine Marine Patrol after U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby issued an arrest warrant for him Wednesday.

Hutchinson was in the Cumberland County Jail on Friday night after being transferred from the Knox County Jail in Rockland.

He is scheduled to go on trial later this year on two counts of seaman’s manslaughter for the deaths of Tom Hammond, 27, of Rockland and Tyler Sawyer, 15, of St. George and Waldoboro. The two were crew members aboard his lobster boat No Limits, which sank on Nov. 1, 2014.

Hutchinson was arrested Dec. 19 on the seaman’s manslaughter charges and released three days later on $10,000 unsecured bail. The court imposed conditions that Hutchinson not use or possess illegal narcotics.

But on March 13, Waldoboro emergency medical services and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an unresponsive man at a residence in Friendship, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland.

Officials found Hutchinson unresponsive, not breathing and with a faint pulse, according to the report. Two doses of the drug Narcan were administered to Hutchinson, who then regained consciousness.

Hutchinson refused to be taken to the hospital and claimed he had been working long hours and had not eaten. He also said he was a diabetic.

Read the full story from The Courier Gazette at The Portland Press Herald 

Lobster Boat Owner Facing Manslaughter Charges Is Freed On Bond

December 23, 2016 — A Cushing lobsterman has been charged with manslaughter in the deaths of two crewmen who were lost at sea when his boat capsized and sank near Matinicus Island during a storm in 2014.

Federal prosecutors have accused Christopher A. Hutchinson of taking oxycodone, using marijuana and drinking alcohol before taking out his boat, No Limits, early on Nov. 1, 2014, with two crewmen aboard. Tomas Hammond, 26, and Tyler Sawyer, 15, were never found after the boat flipped in heavy seas and sank several miles west of Matinicus as it was headed back to its home port in Tenants Harbor. Hutchinson, 28, made it into a life raft and was rescued.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday. Dressed in a tie-dyed T-shirt and blue athletic pants, Hutchinson responded to questions from Magistrate Judge John Rich and appeared shaken and tired.

Hutchinson had a court-appointed attorney during the hearing, but said he had retained an attorney to represent him. His family attended the hearing but declined to comment about the case. The families of Hammond and Sawyer didn’t return calls seeking comment Monday.

Hutchinson, who was arrested Monday, will be held in detention until a bail hearing scheduled for Thursday. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Hutchinson has been charged under the Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute, a little-used statute in the U.S. criminal code dating to the 1800s that is used in cases of misconduct or negligence by anyone responsible for managing a vessel, including a captain, pilot or owner.

The indictment charged Hutchinson in the deaths of Hammond, of Richmond, and Sawyer, of St. George and Waldoboro, on Nov. 1, 2014.

The boat was headed for a fishing area called Eleven Mile Ridge, despite National Weather Service warnings of dangerous weather and sea conditions.

After hauling lobster traps for several hours, Hutchinson decided to return to Tenants Harbor about 10:30 a.m., court documents say. Hutchinson tried to “surf” the waves, capsizing the boat.

In an interview a few days after the sinking, Hutchinson said the No Limits was on the way back to the mainland when the seas and winds quickly intensified, causing the 45-foot lobster boat to flip.

Hutchinson said that when the trio left the Linda Bean dock in Tenants Harbor early that morning, the wind was not blowing. He said he had fished that area off Matinicus for six years. He said his boat was large enough that he was not concerned about the weather.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald